Best for Secondary and Higher EducationAccessible across all platformsSome word processing and file sharing knowledge needed

Classroom-based assessment projects seem fairly redundant without the Classroom element. However, there are a handful of applications out there that can help schools to facilitate more open-ended learning objectives and still maintain a birds-eye-view over progress. Google for Education have a bundle of applications that can help in this regard.

Firstly, the apps in question span across word processing, presentation creation, spreadsheet generation, planning, blogging, website building, file storage and so on. The full range can have an impact on any number of chosen learning objectives and subjects. Being a cloud-based system, the apps are accessible on any platform and work perfectly on Apple devices. In fact, some Apple functionality intuitively supports Google apps functionality. Therefore, no matter what device is being used at home, Google for Education is an option.

Whilst each app has live collaboration capabilities, the easiest way of maintaining an ongoing assessment project to create a shared folder on Google Drive. In this scenario, students can use any of the Google apps and save their work to the shared folder. The teacher can then open up the work and interact with it to mark progress or edit the document. Both learner and teacher can access the folder at any time and all of the revisions will be saved so that both parties can see how the work has adapted over time. In this sense, the Google apps can keep a watchful eye over progression for the teacher. They can then explore the timeline of that progression at a later date.